Three-ply tweed yarn



Aug. 27, 1963 G. s. HOOPER ETAL THREE-PLY TWEED YARN Filed Dec. 1, 1960FIG.

FIG. 2

FIG.

G/LMANSK/(WH THERON a. F/NZEL a BYGERALD A. McFARREN ATTQRNEY UnitedStates Patent 3,l(l1,522 THREE-FLY TWEED YARN Gilrnan S. Hooper, BayVillage, and Theron G. Finzel, Westlake, Ohio, and Gerald A. McFarren,Wilmington, Del., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Hercules PowderCompany, Wilmington, Deh, a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 1, 1960,Ser. No. '72,97 12 (Claims. (Cl. 23-44) This invention relates to acomposite strand of three yarns which when dyed in a single dye bathresults in a variegated colored textile article. More specifically, thisinvention i concerned with a three-ply strand of yarns and pile fabricsmade therefrom which can be dyed in the piece to produce variegatedcolored or tweed patterned textile articles.

In the production of fabrics such as pile fabrics, i.e., carpets, rugs,upholstery fabrics and other napped fabrics with which this invention isparticularly concerned, it is advantageous to be able to dye thesearticles in the piece, i.e., after the yarn has been knit, woven, ortufted into the fabric. For example, dyeing in the piece minimizes thevalue of the waste occurring as a natural result of converting the yarninto the fabric and eliminates the necessity of matching the colors ofyarns dyed in vmious dye lots. Piece dyeing of pile fabrics ofartificial yarns, however, has not been entirely successful. During theprocessing of artificial yarns and particularly the bulking processing,slight variations in the yarn fibers occur which appear during dyeing asstreaks, barre, and other un desirable and noticeable variations incolor or shade.

In order to overcome these color variations, textile manufacturers haveresorted to using artificial fibers in staple form so that they can beblended to equalize the differences in dyeing receptivity. Artificialstaple yarns, however, require that after the polymer has been proo'essed into a continuous yarn, it must be cut into staple, blended and,then, spun back into a yarn. These additional operations involveconsiderably more handling and losses and are, hence, economicallyundesirable. Also, the strength of a spun yarn is dependent upon theinterfiber friction and, consequently, is much lower than that of acontinuous filament yarn. It is, therefore, desirable to be able to use-a continuous filament artificial yarn which can be dyed in the piecewithout the undesirable color streaks which now are a common problent.

One means presently used to reduce the appearance of streaks in pilefabrics made from continuous filament artificial yarns is the use ofhigh-low fabrics, i.e., tabrics with varying pile heights. The shadowsand highlights created by varying pile heights are often sufficient tohide any dye streak-s that may be present. Fabrics of this type,however, due to varying consumer tastes, enjoy a rather limited marketand are not alway tree from streaks.

Another method frequently employed to disperse the appearance of colorstreaks is the use of tweed color patterns wherein random variations areused in the fabric coloration. This method permits fabricationof pilefabrics of either uniform or high-low pile height and has foundwidespread acceptance. To obtain a tweed or variegated color pattern,however, requires dyeing the yarn prior to weaving, knitting, tufting orbraiding such as in the skein and leads to all of the problems mentionedabove with regard to color matching, waste, and additional expense.

In order to avoid the problems involved in skein dyeing, it has beensuggested that two yarns having varying dye receptivity be combined,such :as, cotton or wool with figlfiLEZZ Patented Aug. 27, 1963 iceacetate yarn. This method of producing a tweed pattern in which only twoyarns have been used has resulted insornewhat harsh patterns. Also,since both yarns accept dye to some extent, there results trequentvariations in the amount of dye that one yarn or the other takes up orresists giving the appearance of nonuniforinities of shades andcarry-over of shade from one yarn to the other.

Now it has been found that continuous filament artificial yarns can befabricated into a strand for use in pile fabrics which when dyed in thepiece produce a variegated colored article successfully avoiding colorvariation streaks. Since the strand contain only one yarn whose color issubstantially changed by the dyeing, variations of color throughout thepiece are minimized and shade carry-over is eliminated. Pile fabricscan, thus, be produced of a uniform pile height and dyed in the piece togive tweed pattern designs of muted color tones.

In accordance with this invention, a strand of three artificial yarns isformed using one artificial yarn which has been color pigmented, anaturally colored poly-aolefi-n yarn having substantially no colorationand a dyeable artificial yarn. Subsequent dyeing of either the strand ora fabric constructed of the strand using accepted artificial yarn dyesproduces a variegated colored textile article.

It is well known that poly-a-olefin yarns are highly resistant to thecommon dyes. They are particularly resistant to any of the dyes normallyused on artificial yarns and, therefore, are well suited for combinationwith artificial yarns since they will resist taking on the colorationduring subsequent dyeing in a dye which readily tints the artificialyarn. Methods of pigmenting artificial yams and particularly poly-woletmand polycarbonamide yarns have been developed wherein the pigment isincorporated into the polymer prior to its formation into yarn. Deepshades in color-pigmented artificial yarn-s can be achieved which arelittle afiected by subsequent dyeing. A strand produced by combining apigmented artificial yarn, a dye resistant poly-a-olefin yarn and a dyereceptive artificial yarn can, thus, be dyed as a strand or convertedinto a fabric which dyes to a muted toned, variegated colored textilearticle.

,A great variety of tweed or salt and'pepper effects can be obtainedfrom a combination strand, such as that described herein, although thespun-dyed yarn is necessarily of a fixed color. For example, a strandsuch as that shown in FIGURE '1 consisting of a white poly-u-olefinyarn, '10, combined with a dyea-ble polycarbo-narnide yarn, 11, and ablack spun-dyed poly-a-olefin yarn, 12, can be dyed with a suitable dyeto any one of the numerous shades ofred, blue, or gray to give highlydesirable variegated effects. Similarly, when the spundyed yarn is brownin color, the strand may be dyed using various shades of green, yellow,or tan. 0t particular advantage is the fact that piece dyeing can becarried out on a pile surface fabric, such as that shown in FIGURE 2wherein the three-ply strand, 14-, is formed into loops or that shown inFIGURE 3 wherein the threeply strand, 15, is in cut-pile form, toproduce a tweed patterned textile article, such as a carpet, rug,upholstery fabric or the like. Significantly, the dyes do not alter thecolor of the spun-dyed p-oly-aaolefin yarn and when other monomer unit.Particular advantages have been found in the practice of this inventionin using filamentary atricles of stereo regulated, highly crystalline,high molecular weight polymers of a-olefins of the formula CH =CHR inwhich R is an alkyl group. Alpha-olefins when polymerized with the aidof certain catalysts result in a polymer mixture of crystallizable,isotatic and noncrystallizable atactic polymers having a preferentiallyhigher content of the isotatic structure. The isotactic polymers arenormally solid, linear, regular head-to-tail crystallizable polymershaving substantially no branches longer than R and can be distinguishedfrom the atactic polymers in that substantially all of the asymmetrictertiary main-chain carbon atoms of adjacent monomeric units have thesame steric configuration such that the main chain of the macromolecule,when fully extended in a plane, shows substantially all of the R groupson one side of the plane and all of the hydrogen atoms bound to thetertiary carbon atoms on the opposite side. A fuller explanation ofstereo regulation and the ot-olefin polymers which are utilizable inthis invention may be found in the article by G. Natta and P. Corradini,Rend Accad. Maz. Lincei 18, 19 (1955). Furthermore, it has been foundparticularly advantageous to use the articles andprocesses of thisinvention yarns formed of stereo regulated, fiber-forming polypropylene.

When poly-a-olefin materials are spun into yarn, the color of theresultant yarn depends upon the temperature of extrusion, the purity ofthe polymer and the like. Usually the yarn is white or off-white havinga slight yellow tint to it. The term naturally colored as used herein ismeant to include all of the shades of off-white along with white whichoccur in the yarn as it is spun. Of course it is preferred to use aperfectly white poly-a-olefin yarn as the dye resistant yarn in thestrand of this invention but slightly off-white yarns are acceptable.

Color pigmentation or spin dyeing techniques wherein a pigment isincorporated within the material have been developed for many of theartificial yarns. By artificial yarns as used herein it is meant, thoseyarns produced artificially from both natural and synthetic polymers andincludes the regenerated cellulose, cellulose esters, polycarbonamides,polyacrylonitrile, polyester, poly-a-olefin, and regenerated proteintype polymers. The spin dyeing of these polymers is usually carried outby the addition of a pigment to the polymer solution whether it be anaqueous solution such as viscose, a melt such as a polycarbonamide, or asolvent solution such as utilized with acetate and polyacrylonitrilesjust prior to its being extruded into yarn. The pigment can, also, beadded to the reactants before polymerization or to the solid polymerchips before they are remelted and spun into yarn. Coloration in thisway produces yarns of exceptionally good colorfastness and permits theproduction of filaments having a wide variety of colors. Furthermore,this method permits the coloration of the difiicultly dyed yarns such aspoly-w-olefins when incorporated in the manner described in copendingUS. patent application Serial No. 12,507, filed March 3, 1960, and nowUS. Patent No. 3,061,576. Usually deep shades can be obtained by the useof spin dyeing and novel efiects can be created by subsequentlyoverdyeing the yarn with some different shade of a dye which readilycolors the yarn material. Although other spun-dyed artificially yarnscan be used, it has been found particularly advantageous to use aspun-dyed yarn made from a fibre-forming synthetic polymer selected fromthe group consisting of poly-w-olefins and linear polycarbonamides. Inthe preferred embodiment of the strand combinations of this invention,fiber-forming polypropylene yarns are utilized since they aresubstantially unaffected by the common dyes using conventionaltechniques and, thus, maintain their true spun-dyed color.

The dye receptive artificial yarn of the strand may be any of artificialyarns generally considered to be dyeable including regeneratedcellulose, cellulose ester, polycarbonamide, polyacrylonitrile andcopolymers thereof, polyesters, and regenerated protein type fibers. Thenatural fibers might also be used under certain conditions but it hasbeen found that, generally, due to their lower strengths and widedifferences in their load elongations they are not satisfactory incomparison to the artificial fibers. It has been found particularlyadvantageous to use a dyeable yarn of a fiberforming, linearpolycarbonamide. The term polycarbonamide is meant to include anylong-chain synthetic polymerica carbonamide which has recurring amidegroups as an integral part of the main polymer chain, and which iscapable of being formed into a filament in which the structural elementsare oriented in the direction of the axis. erally, polycarbonamides maybe formed either by the condensation of a diamine and a dibasic acid,the most common of which is hexamethylene diamine adipate, so callednylon 66, or by the polymerization of the lactam of e-aminocaproic acid,so called nylon 6 and it is these members of the polycarbonamides whichare preferred in the products and processes of this invention.

The selection of a suitable dye is dependent upon the dye receptive yarnused since the poly-a-olefin yarn is substantially dye resistant to allof the well-known dyes. Any of the dyes well known in the art asrecommended for the particularly dyeable yarn contained in the strandcan, therefore, be used. For example, when the dye receptive yarn is apolycarbonamide yarn, the dyeing of the strand of pile surfaced fabriccan be carried out with acid dyeing premetallized dyes, acid dyes, andselected direct cotton dyes. None of these types of dyes substantiallypermanently tint the poly-a-olefin yarns. In

the preferred embodiment of this invention in which the spun-dyed yarnis a poly-a-olefin and the dyeable yarn is nylon, particular advantageshave been found in using the acid dyeing premetallized dyes.

The application of the dye can be accomplished through the use of any ofusual dyeing techniques. Here again the dyeing technique is dependentupon the type of dyeable yarn in the strand and the dye type used and,

hence, follows those procedures which are well known in the art.Usually, these techniques require the strand or fabric to first bescoured in a aqueous detergent solution after which dyeing is carriedout in demineralized water having its pH adjusted and containing asuitable wetting agent along with the dye. The article is then rinsed toremove any unattached dyestuif and dried. Pile surface fabrics made fromthe three-ply strand of this invention when dyed in a single dye bath inthis manner exhibit a distinctive over-all tweed color pattern.

This invention now will be more fully described by the followingexamples, althoughit is understood that the invention is not ot belimited to the specific conditions contained therein.

Example I A 1050 denier, 70 filament, black spun-dyed polypropylene yarnhaving 0.2 twist per inch is combined with a 1050 denier, 70 filamentnaturally colored polypropylene yarn and a 1050 denier, 70 filamentnylon 6 yarn. The three-ply strand is given 1.5 ply twist and tufted ona jute hacking into a loop pile carpet construction.

A sample of the carpet fabric containing 300 grams of yarn is immersedin a dye solution, at room temperature, containing 16 liters of Water; 4grams of Triton X100, Rohm & Haas Companys alkylaryl polyether alcoholdetergent; 1 gram of acetic acid; 0.2 gram of Gycolan Red BREmanufactured by the Geigy Chemical Company; 0.005 gram of Gycolan Blue 2GL, also made by the Geigy Chemical Company; and 0.010 gram of NeolanYellow G.R. (Color Index-*acid yellow No. 99), made by the Ciba CompanyIncorporated. Following introduction of the fabric into the dye bath,heat is applied and Gen-- solution is raised to a temperature of 100 C.within 45 7 minutes. Boiling is continued for 30 minutesafter whichExample 11 A bulked, continuousfilarnent nylon 66 yarn of 1050 denierand 70 filaments, having 0.2 twist per inch, is combined with a dark-redspun-dyed nylon 6 yarn and a white polypropylene yarn, each of a similarconstruction. The combined yarns are ply twisted to a total of 1.3twists per inch, heat set, and tufted and cut on a jute backing materialto produce a cut-pile carpet fabric.

A portion of the carpet fabriccontaining 200 grams of yarn is dyed inthe same manner as described in Example I using, however, a dye solutioncontaining 8 liters of water; 2 grams of Triton X 100; 2 grams ofammonium acetate; 0.06 gram of Erio Anthracene Grey 2 BLN (ColorIndex-acid black 48), a dyestuff manufactured by the Geigy ChemicalCompany; and 0.08 gram of Polar Brown 2 GL also manufactured by theGeigy Chemical Company.

The dyed fabric is comprised of muted tones of gray, red and whitewherein the polypropylene yarn has resisted dyeing. I Example 111 I A1100 denier, 75 filament regenerated cellulose yarn having 025 twist perinch is ply twisted with a darkbrown spun-dyed polypropylene yarn and awhite polypropylene yarn of the same denier, twist and filament count.The three-ply strand is put up in skeins and scoured preparatory todyeing. t

A 200 gram skein is dyed in the manner described in Example I in a dyesolution containing 10 liters of water; 2 grams of Triton X-100; 10grams of sodium sulfate; 0.28 gram of Solophenyl Fast Blue Green BL(Color Index-direct green No. 27) manufactured by the Geigy' ChemicalCompany; and 0.07 gram of Solophenyl Orange TGL (Color Index-directorange No. 34) also manufactured by the latter company. 1

The dyed skein exhibits variegated brown, green and white colors mutedto blend together giving an over-all tweed effect. The multicoloredstrandmay be woven, knitted, braided, or tufted into textile articles ofenhanced colorful appearance.

Although the deniers of the three yarns shown in the examples are thesame, very interesting effects can be achieved by varying these deniersso that varying amounts of each of the colors will appear in the finalarticle. Also, the denier of the strand may be adjusted to suit thetextile article into which it is to be converted. For carpets, thedenier of the strand is usually about 3000 denier when nylon yarns areused, but variations in the density and bulking qualities of the yarnmay vary this requirement depending upon the coverage desired.Preferably, continuous filament yarns are used since they exhibit higherstrengths, abrasion resistances and the like and, also, they are thetypes of yarn most susceptible to color imperfections. Staple yarns,however, could also be used in the products and processes of thisinvention.

The application of this invention to bulked yarns is particularlyadvantageous since this is a principal source of the introduction ofimperfections which show up in dyeing. A large number of methods ofbulking continuous artificial filaments have been suggested in recentyears including crimping, looping, twisting, and the like. It isparticularly desirable to bulk continuous filaments for pile surfacefabrics to improve their covering power. The term pile fabric or pilesurface fabric as used herein means any fabric or material which has anapped or pile conformation and includes rugs, upholstery materials,furs and the like. The crimps, twists or loops in the bulked filaments,however, create differences in the yarn dye receptively in anuncontrolled manner resulting in undesirable color variations duringdyeing. The strand and pile surface fabrics made from it, in accordancewith this invention, successfully randomize these dye-variations toproduce appealing variegated color patterns.

The twist in the three-ply strand may be varied depending upon the enduse to which it is to be put. The process does not necessarily requiretwist but it has been found that it is easier to handle the strand if ithas at least some ply twist. As for twist in. the individual yarns, theyneed have only a minimum amount to keep their individuality distinct inthe finished colored strand.

Since certain changes in the practice of this invention may be readilymade Without substantially departing from its spirit or scope, it is tobe understood that all of the foregoing is to be interpreted as beingmerely illustrative and is not .to be construed as limiting orrestricting the invention as particularly pointed out and defined in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A three-ply strand of yarns consisting essentially of acolor-pigmented artificial yarn, a naturally colored yarn of afiber-forming polyx-olefin and a dyeable artificial yarn; said yarnstwisted together thereby forming a threeply strand capable of subsequentdyeing in the piece to a variegated colored textile article.

2. A three-ply strand of yarns consisting essentially of acolor-pigmentedyarn of a fiber-forming synthetic polymer selected fromthe group consisting of poly-a-olefins and linear polycarbonamides; anaturally colored yarn of a fiber-forming polyu-ole-fin and a dyeableyarn of a fiberforrn-ing, linear polycarbonarnide; said yarns twistedtogether thereby forming a three-ply strand capable of subsequent dyeingin the piece to a variegated colored textile article.

3. A three-ply strand of continuous filament synthetic yarns consistingessentially of a color-pigmented yarn of a fiber-forming polypropylene,a naturally colored yarn of fiber-forming polypropylene and a dyeableyarn of a fiberforrning, linear polycarbonamide; said yarns twistedtogether thereby forming a three-ply strand capable of subsequent dyeingin the piece wherein only the fiber-forming, linear polycarbonamide yarnis dyed thereby forming a variegated colored textile article.

4. A fabric having a pile surface composed of tufts of a three-plystrand of yarns consisting essentially of a color-pigmented artificialyarn, a naturally colored yarn of a fiber-forming poly-oc-olefin and adyeable artificial yarn; said pile surface capable of being dyed in thepiece to a variegated colored textile article.

5. A fabric having a pile surface composed of tufts of a three-plystrand of yarns consisting essentially of a color-pigmented yarn of afiber-forming synthetic polymer selected from the group consisting ofpoly-a-olefins and linear polycarbonamides, a naturally colored yarn offiber-forming poly-u-olefin and a dyeable yarn of a fiberforming, linearpolycarbonamide; said pile surface capable of being dyed in the piece toa variegated colored textile article.

6. A fabric having a pile surface composed of tufts of a three-plystrand of yarns consisting essentially of a colorpigrrrented yarn offiber-forming polypropylene, a naturally colored yarn of fiber-formingpolypropylene and a dyeable yarn of a fiber-forming, linearpolycarbonamide; said pile surface capable of being dye in the piecewherein only the fiber-forming, linear polycarbonamide yarn is dyedthereby forming a variegated colored textile article.

7. A method of making a variegated colored pile fabric comprisingtwisting three yarns into a three-ply strand consisting essentially of acolor-pigmented artificial yarn, a naturally colored yarn of afiber-forming poly-u-olefin and a dyeable artificial yarn; forming saidstrand into a pile fabric; and dyeing said fabric in the piece therebyproducing a variegated colored pile fabric.

8. A method of making a variegated colored pile fabric comprising makinga pile fabric from a twisted three-ply strand consisting essentially ofa color-pigmented yarn of a fiber-forming synthetic polymer selectedfrom the group consisting of poly-u-olefins and linetarpolycarbonamides, a naturally colored yarn of fiber-formingpoly-a-olefin and a dyeable yarn of a fiber-forming, linearpolycaronamide; and dyeing said fabric in the piece thereby producing avaniegated colored pile fabric.

9. A method of making a variegated colored pile fabric comprising makinga pile fabric from a twisted three-ply strand of yarnsconsistingessentially of a color-pigmented yarn of fiber-formingpolypropylene, a naturally colored yarn of fiber-forming polypropyleneand a dyeable yarn of a fiber-forming, linear polycarbonarnide; anddyeing said fabric in the piece wherein only the fiber-forming, linearpolycarbonamide yarn is dyed thereby producing a variegated colored pilefabric.

10. A method of making a three-ply strand of yarns comprising twistingtogether yarns consisting essentially of a color-pigmented artificialyarn, a naturally colored yarn of a fiber-forming poly-ot-olefin and adyeable artificial yarn into a three-ply strand; said three-ply strandbeing capable of being dyed in a single dye bath to produce a variegatedcolored textile article.

11. A method of making a three-ply strand of yarns comprising twistingtogether yarns consisting essentially of a color-pigmented yarn of afiber-forming, synthetic polymer selected from the group consisting ofpoly-a-olefins and linear polycarbonamides, a naturally colored yam offiber-forming poly-u-olefin and a dyeable yarn of a fiber-forming,linear polycarbonamide into a three-ply strand; said strand beingcapable of being dyed in a single dye bath to produce a variegatedcolored textile article.

12. A method of making a three-ply strand of yarns comprising twistingtogether yarns consisting essentially of a color-pigmented yarn offiber-forming polypropylene, a naturally colored yarn of fiber-formingpolypropylene and a dyeable yarn of a tiber-forming polycarbonamide intoa three-ply strand; said three-ply strand being capable of being dyed ina single dye bath wherein only the polycarbonamide yarn is dyed toproduce a variegated colored textile article.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 807,089France Sept. 4, 1935 809,495 Great Britain Feb. 25, 1959 836,254 GreatBritain June 1, 1960

1. A THREE-PLY STRAND OF YARNS CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF ACOLOR-PIGMENTED ARTIFICIAL YARN, A NATURALLY COLORED YARN OF AFIBER-FORMING POLY-A-OLEFIN AND A DYEABLE ARTIFICIAL YARN; SAID YARNSTWISTED TOGETHER THEREBY FORMING A THREEPLY STRAND CAPABLE OF SUBSEQUENTDYEING IN THE PIECE TO A VARIEGATED COLOURED TEXTILE ARTICLE.
 7. AMETHOD OF MAKING A VARIEGATED COLORED PILE FABRIC COMPRISING TWISTINGTHREE YARNS INTO A THREE-PLY STRAND CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF ACOLOR-PIGMENTED ARTIFICAL YARN, A NATURALLY COLORED YARN OF AFIBER-FORMING POLY-A-OLEFIN AND A DYEABLE ARTIFICIAL YARN; FORMING SAIDSTRAND INTO A PILE FABRIC; AND DYEING SAID FABRIC IN THE PIECE THEREBYPRODUCING A VARIEGATED COLORED PILE FABRIC.